Anyone ever build anything like this?

[ryanbr]

I have several projects lined up for this summer that require pouring concrete in small areas.

I just purchased a used drum mixer, and had thought about turning it into a 3ph mount but decided against that due to the hassle of having to maneuver a tractor everywhere I want to pour concrete (in the end it will likely be easier to move it by wheelbarrow). Thoughts on that?

Also I since I will be doing 90% of the work myself I would like to limit the amount of physical labor involved. One thing I thought I could do was build some kind of hopper device out of wood that I could dump a few buckets full of gravel and use a door and 'chute' system to dump the gravel into mixer, thereby eliminating shoveling. I do not know how to build it solid enough to hold a fair amount of gravel? Also ideas for a chute and door system? Also I would like to build this for next to nothing I have quite a few 2x4's, 2x6's, 2x8, and even a couple short 2x10's.

Any help or advise is appreciated.

I tried searching for something like this and came up empty.

 

[teach]

Rhofford,
I don't know much about building/modifying a cement mixer, but when I have to mix cement, I limit the physical labor part by mixing it right in the tractor's bucket. I can lower the bucket to add sand/bags of cement, and move the tractor right to the exact location where I need the cement. As long as I rinse the bucket, there is no sign of even having used the bucket for cement.
Good luck with your project!
Teach

 

[rdbrumfield]

I suppose a hopper system would work if somehow you could keep the same measurement of gravel, sand, cement mixture the same for each mixer load.

as far as ferrying the load, what I did was take a 55 gallon drum, weld an angle iron on the bottom with a hook so I could put that against the cutting edge of the bucket. By running a chain from the hook around the backside of the bucket up around the top of the drum and bindering back to the chain I could take a load and dump it anywhere if I had room. It really does come in handy for where the mixer truck cannot get to.

Like you, I had thought of building sort of a triangle mixing tub for the frontloader. With a quick disconnect bucket a person could adapt a mixer and run it with hyd. I was thinking if you had a pressure guage on the lift line, you could tell how much material you had each time. By having the flat side to take a scoop and roll it back for mixing and use a corner for dumping it would certainly work.

Remenber, you heard it here first lol.

 

[txdon]

Wrought_n_harv uses a pourable quick attach scoop for pouring cement with his skid steer. He has pictures of it here on TBN on several of his projects. He just pours the cement out of his mixer into the scoop and the spout on the scoop makes pouring exact.

 

[MikeInEburg]

If you can arrange to pour several projects at the same time, seriously consider just ordering from a concrete supplier. Especially if your quantity involves "several buckets of gravel"... Gets the project moving and can be VERY cost-effective!
Mike

 

[Sherweld]

Many years ago I built exactly what you describe, although it was for loading a wheelbarrow style mixer which sat quite low to the ground. Even then it was a bit of a chore to lift the ingredients high enough to go into the hopper. (and I was a whole lot younger then) With a conventional mixer it seems to me it would be very high to reach the top of a hopper.

Another thought, I only use 80# premix these days, and have built a tilting gizmo onto which I plop an 80# bag, cut off the top, and tilt the premix into the mixer (no fuss- no muss). So all the further I have to lift the bag is about chest high. A scheme like this could probably be adapted to work with measure-it-yourself ingredients.

Sorry no pix at the moment, but will be happy to furnish if this seems workable for your situation.

Regards
Sherweld

 

[CurlyDave]

If you can arrange to pour several projects at the same time, seriously consider just ordering from a concrete supplier. Especially if your quantity involves "several buckets of gravel"... Gets the project moving and can be VERY cost-effective!
Mike

Mike is right. I have found that if you do all the setup work ahead of time so you can pour several small projects at once it is actually less expensive to get a concrete truck to deliver it. Call a few redi-mix places and see how much they want you to take in order to avoid a "short load" charge.

The other alternative is to get it from a batch plant in a concrete buggy. Right near my place they sell it in 1 yard trailers which can hold anywhere from 1/4 yard right on up to a full one. They have a gas motor which keeps them turning just like a concrete truck on a smaller scale.

The only time I use my mixer is when I need less than 1/4 yard. If it is that small I just lift the sacks in the FEL and shovel the material in with no lifting.

 

[BHD]

I put the gravel on a truck and the cement and then at least one is shoveling down instead of up, and park the truck backed up to the mixer,

 

[flusher]

I have several projects lined up for this summer that require pouring concrete in small areas.

I just purchased a used drum mixer, and had thought about turning it into a 3ph mount but decided against that due to the hassle of having to maneuver a tractor everywhere I want to pour concrete (in the end it will likely be easier to move it by wheelbarrow). Thoughts on that?

Also I since I will be doing 90% of the work myself I would like to limit the amount of physical labor involved. One thing I thought I could do was build some kind of hopper device out of wood that I could dump a few buckets full of gravel and use a door and 'chute' system to dump the gravel into mixer, thereby eliminating shoveling. I do not know how to build it solid enough to hold a fair amount of gravel? Also ideas for a chute and door system? Also I would like to build this for next to nothing I have quite a few 2x4's, 2x6's, 2x8, and even a couple short 2x10's.

Any help or advise is appreciated.

I tried searching for something like this and came up empty.

I buy 60 lb sacks of redi-mix. The guys at the lumber yard load them into the F150. I drop the tailgate, back up to the mixer, cut the sacks in half with a utility knife and dump into the mixer. That way I only handle 30 lb at a time. Works for me and saves wear and tear on my back. Costs more than having the sand and gravel dumped on the ground by the truckload and then shoveling it into the mixer, but I don't do a lot of concrete work so I'm willing to pay the price for the convenience of redi-mix.

 

[Taylortractornut]

I have a 3 point mixer I made out of an old stationary mixer, I welded a 3 point onto the back of it and used a shaft to drive it but it had to side dumped. I mixed for a fence post job I helped on. The thing about mixing on a large project is that youll have cold joints in the concrete if do a lrge pour like a slab. I know a man that built a nice round building that was all poured with a small mixer and it fell apart. I think really they were intended for small pours with a 1 yard max. I dig up alot of sidewalks and patios that were mixed in them and you can always tell the cold spots in them.